1. Technical Field
The embodiments described herein are related to an endoscope with a plurality of multifunctional extending arms and an endoscopic tool with an integrated camera for use therewith, and more particularly to an endoscope with a plurality of extending, multi-functional arms upon which a plurality of cameras, lighting and other sensory elements may be mounted and which can be used in conjunction with the camera-mounted endoscopic tool.
2. Background
An endoscope is a medical optics device which is used to look inside the human body. It may include a tube known as a cannula which contains optical elements and a light source for capturing images on a distal end of the tube which are viewed by a user outside the body through a monitor or an eyepiece. The endoscope is commonly used for diagnostics and for performing minimally-invasive surgery (MIS), where only small openings are made in the dermis and body walls through which the endoscope is inserted. A user, such as a surgeon performing a medical procedure, will insert the endoscope through an opening in the body, after which the surgeon may insert a medical instrument through another opening with which they can perform the medical procedure while viewing it through the optics in the endoscope.
Endoscopes are limited by the optics implemented in the endoscope and the resulting ability to clearly view an area within the human body while performing a medical procedure. When the optical elements of the endoscope are inserted separately from the medical instrument, it is difficult to view the medical instrument and the work that is being done. Additionally, manipulating the medical instrument to perform the medical procedure and the endoscope to ensure proper viewing of the procedure is often exceedingly difficult, requiring careful manipulation and coordination to move both devices. In some situations, more than one medical instrument is inserted and must be manipulated simultaneously with the other inserted medical instruments all while continuously repositioning the endoscope for a proper view. Additionally, in cases where the medical instrument must move around an object within the body, such as an organ, tissue, bone, etc., the endoscope may be unable to follow the medical instrument and provide adequate images of an area of interest. The benefits of performing MIS are hampered by the lack of visual and other information available to the surgeon.